Get fit the fun way

Get fit the fun wayWomen in Sport It’s unfortunate that the majority of sports television coverage features men. With the media domination of male AFL, Rugby and League, you’d almost be excused for thinking women don’t play sport at all. But that’s actually not the case. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 31.4% of Australians over the age of 18 have participated in some sort of organised sport. Of these people, 34.3% of males participate compared to 28.5% of females. Not quite the 99% – 1% split that TV networks would like us to believe! Women have also been disadvantaged due to popular attitudes. Even as recently as the 1970s, women were encouraged to participate in more ‘ladylike sports’ such as tennis, golf and squash. Furthermore, financial support for female professional athletes in any field was virtually non-existent. It was around the 1980’s that the government realised schoolgirls who didn’t participate in sport were generally low achievers in school, so in 1984 the Australian Government launched projects to encourage sport in schools and encourage women athlete rolemodels in the media. Advantages of team sports There are more benefits to team sports than just fitness. Training in a team is fabulous life training – not only does it teach you how to work as a team but you also learn how to deal with failure and how to control aggression in a positive way. When your week is dominated by work, family and chores, it’s a fabulous release to join a group of girls in a healthy pursuit. And team sports just aren’t aimed at the very young. Competitions for over 35s are increasingly in sports around the country as more and more women revisit the sports of their youth, or the sports they never had the opportunity to try. Part 2: What sports are available to you and how do you get involved?

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